Blanser's Power and Hyeondo's Resolve
Puuuuk.
Hyeondo thrust his sword deep between the corpses, then shook his contact mirror as if trying to break it in half.
Jijik. Jijijik.
However, the place where Hyeondo was located was an extreme environment, so communication seemed far from stable.
-Is this the Brigadier? Then the Brigadier General, no, the Ilgeum?
“The Brigadier General is not here. If he were, this would have become a troublesome fight.”
-The scale is one thing, but more and more monsters are emerging. They must have that kind of determination. It’s about time we wrap this up. Return immediately.
But Hyeondo slowly shook his head at Cheongtong’s order to return.
“Since Lord ordered me to seal off the yokai here, I cannot move even one step before the next order comes.”
-That is an order from the Lord. Return.
“…!”
-The Lord himself spoke. He is near Crow’s Duck’s territory. Go pay your respects.
“Is that true?”
-Yes. Ah, and the Arirang clan in this generation has grown quite a bit. One of your successors has appeared in the world. You should at least show them your face once in a while.
“…If the circumstances allow, I will do so. I will depart immediately to pay my respects to the Lord.”
-Alright, rest well.
Thud.
The contact mirror’s screen went dark. Hyeondo roughly tucked it into his coat, stood up from the corpse he had been leaning on, and set out along the same path to meet the Lord.
His gait was leisurely yet calm, considering he had single-handedly wiped out an entire brigade.
Yokai corpses formed a mountain near the spot he had left.
* * *
One of Teraden’s Ineung, Hwigwang, was so rare that even in the annals of history it was unprecedented.
Unlike ordinary light, it possessed physical force. Upon closer inspection, it carried the nature of repulsive force.
Of course, the reason the others who encountered Teraden did not merely view him as a threat was not that simple. Rarity and physical power were secondary. The true power of Hwigwang lay in its inherent might.
Hwigwang held absolute dominance over almost every Ineung, not just other attributes.
Setting aside rarity and physical power, there were good reasons Crow’s Duck had called it an Ineung close to a Gweonneung.
That said, this did not mean Hwigwang was always the strongest. In cases where the power gap was small or comparable, it was one thing, but against opponents stronger than a certain level—as in his previous spar with Jubern—Hwigwang could not crush them utterly.
In other words, against enemies of similar strength, it was basically unbeatable. It was an astonishing ability.
Swaaaa.
The red wave of the Grand Duke roared and surged forward.
“Tch…!”
Teraden dodged the blow and retreated.
From his retreating body, Hwigwang burst forth violently, coalescing into a single mass of light in the sky within moments.
Until now, Teraden had used Hwigwang in only the simplest ways imaginable.
Creating a thin barrier over his own body, illuminating his surroundings, or shaping it into tools. He had yet to wield the great Ineung in anything but these trivial ways, which was why Crow’s Duck had called it a pearl on a pig’s neck—hardly wrong.
But Teraden had thought long and hard about Hwigwang’s usage during his spar with Crow’s Duck disguised as a beating, and the result was exactly this.
Pwaaaang-!
The mass of light that erupted in the sky became a meteor shower, stretching a long tail as it flew straight toward the Grand Duke.
“Grrrr…”
The Grand Duke raised a barrier of waves to block the indiscriminate onslaught of Hwigwang.
Kwaang! Kwaaang!
A third of it missed and exploded around him, a third was blocked by the wall, and the rest simply passed through the Grand Duke.
“Heh heh…”
Thinking he had perfectly blocked the attack, the Grand Duke opened his mouth with a shallow laugh—only for Teraden to smile slyly and point behind him.
“You should be careful. It’s not over yet. That’s an infrared-guided method.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll chase you until you die. You stupid bastard. Oh, almost there.”
“Eh? What the—!”
Kwaaang-!
The Grand Duke hurriedly turned and looked back in shock, trying to block the incoming meteors, but before he could move, the meteor shower exploded right in front of him.
“Kuhk!”
The explosion from behind sent the Grand Duke tumbling forward.
Swaaek-!
Teraden’s body wrapped in Hwigwang shot forward like lightning.
In an instant he kicked off Hwigwang and soared into the air, then kicked off again and began falling with terrifying speed.
His agile movements and unusual aura were like watching thunder.
The target was the Grand Duke, still reeling from the shock, but Teraden intended to decide the match with this single strike.
However, the Grand Duke was no one to allow follow-ups so easily.
Although he had been pushed aside by Hyeondo and ranked second in the junior class, that was because Hyeondo was outstanding, not because the Grand Duke was weak.
“I won…”
Teraden finally reached the Grand Duke and swung at him—only for a sudden red wave to bite into his side and slam him into the building.
They exchanged blows in an endless see-saw.
“Tsk!”
The Grand Duke spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with sand and looked toward the building.
‘Completely different from before I used Hwigwang. To make even this kid suffer this much…’
“Keeping up with you is disgusting. How long are you going to make me wait? Come out already!”
“Heh. If it weren’t for that old man, I would have finished you long ago.”
Feeling gratitude toward Crow’s Duck again, Teraden pushed through the half-collapsed building debris to emerge unsteadily.
Seeing this, the Grand Duke let out a deep breath and roared with spirit.
Kwaaaaa!
Red waves rising to his ankles churned into six imugi.
“Heh. This is the ultimate move I devised with the rematch against Hyeondo in mind.”
Teraden also lifted the corner of his mouth in a confident smile and spread his palms.
“Let’s settle this right now. Good. I’ll take you.”
Gooooo!
The Hwigwang that had covered Teraden’s entire body began condensing toward his palms.
The condensed Hwigwang raged like a wild stallion within his hands.
Seeing the ferocity, he realized one hand wasn’t enough. Even supporting himself with the other, his wrist felt numb.
“I’ve only imagined it. This is my first time actually using it. You’ll make a good opponent.”
“I’ll crush you with full power!”
““Haaaaaaa!””
The imugi that launched from the Grand Duke’s hands pounced on Teraden from all directions, while the condensed Hwigwang simultaneously left his hands and slammed into the Grand Duke with a ruthless momentum.
Kwa kwa kwa kwang-!
The shockwave shattered the fountains and stone statues around them, scattering the debris in all directions.
The Grand Duke, hit by Hwigwang, flew like a broken string, and immediately afterward Teraden was torn apart by the imugi surrounding him.
“Kuk…! C-cough…”
The Grand Duke, who had thrown all his power into attack and abandoned defense, gritted his teeth against the burning pain.
“Ha… Gah! Now I see. Jubern-nim… How much you looked out for us that time. I’m still far from there.”
Teraden, however, had left a safety net of minimal Hwigwang and was not in as grave a state as the Grand Duke. Of course, “as grave” was relative.
Teraden’s body was dyed red as if he had been drenched in blood. Whether this came from the Grand Duke’s Ineung or the bleeding itself was hard to tell from the outside.
“Ha, my twelve meridians feel like they’ve burst this time.”
Still, it seemed he was holding on since he was acting so tough.
“It’s over now…”
“No… It’s not.”
As if mocking Teraden for letting his guard down, the Grand Duke, who had been lying on the ground, clutched his side and barely stood up.
“I… have not fallen yet.”
‘After taking that and still getting up? I wasn’t adjusted properly at the start? Damn it.’
Not a cockroach or anything, watching the Grand Duke keep getting up made Teraden genuinely admire him.
“Wow, I admit it. I’m losing my mind, seriously.”
“Who’s talking!”
“Your legs are shaking. Why don’t you just fall down already?”
“That’s true for you too!”
“….”
Stumbling, the Grand Duke, who had been glaring at Teraden and catching his breath for a long time, moved first. Teraden, matching him, began to limp as if dying or living.
Gwoooong!
The dull explosion that echoed not far away made both of them hesitate in the middle of deciding the match.
‘What is this heat? No way…’
Feeling the tremendous explosion and heat, Teraden hurriedly retreated and looked toward the source of the sound.
Soon, Hyeondo emerged from between the shadowed trees, who had been watching the situation until then.
The heat he exhaled withered the surrounding leaves rapidly and made them dry up.
“Already…? Too early, isn’t it?”
Hyeondo, who had quickly approached the Grand Duke, answered with a short response, his eyes fixed on Teraden.
“No, delaying any longer will cause a big problem.”
“I… see. I’m sorry, but I think I should withdraw at this point. I’ll leave the rest to you. Clean them up completely.”
“Wa… This crazy bastard. I thought he came to deliver the final blow knowing I was bleeding.”
Teraden’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of Hyeondo.
They had realized that these two’s strategy was to let the exhausted day’s party rest fully and then have Hyeondo, who had fought all night, take down the strongest among them.
Keeping the strongest until the end and then doing something so twisted.
It was truly a strategy only possible because everyone believed in Hyeondo.
“You look unwell. You should withdraw already.”
Hyeondo offered the suggestion politely, wanting to save time, but…
“I don’t have the energy to answer. Just come here. Heh, what the hell, I’ll try it anyway.”
‘Even if it’s a sure win, I can’t beat him… Tsk! He keeps inserting himself at the worst time! I’ll hold on until tomorrow no matter what.’
Teraden, breathing heavily, raised his middle finger in refusal.
“Is that so?”
Hyeondo was different from the Grand Duke. He never easily provoked or got angry.
There was also the fact that he was originally serious, but with only one shijin left until the welcoming night ended and after seeing Blanser shatter the rear guard and Junior defeat the outer forces and junior class alone, Hyeondo knew he had to be extra careful.
A situation where they had to decide who would win, Hyeondo immediately released his full power without hesitation.
A lion hunts a rabbit seriously, yet Hyeondo was more like an injured wild beast than a rabbit.
“Then I won’t hold back on my hand.”
Hwaaaak!
A brilliant flash blinded the vision, and a massive sphere of blue flame rose on Hyeondo’s palm.
The scorching heat that followed made one truly feel its power.
“I’ll… burn everything.”
“What, no way, a cheap instant-kill from the start?”
‘Huu, come on, hurry up, Haru. I’m looking like shit right now.’
Thud!
The very next moment after Hyeondo thrust his foot toward Teraden…
Kwaaaang-!
The massive explosion caused by the collision of Hwigwang and Cheongnyeom swallowed the surroundings.